Waterproofing my lights

When I installed my new light set in February, I had to proceed to a custom solution as the front light was for a hub dynamo but I had a bottle dynamo on my bicycle. 

There wasn't a problem with the light itself but with the cables. A light intended for a hub dynamo has a really short cable, as the hub is only a few centimeters further down, and I had to find a way to connect the cables that run from the bottle dynamo and through the frame to the front light.

The custom solution that I followed was to cut a little bit the cable that came out of the front light and shorten it, so it wouldn't hang weirdly, and use some special clips for the cables to fasten the two different cables together. And I did this procedure two times, as I had to fasten together the grounding cables, too. 

This solution was effective and my lights worked alright. 

But after two months of cycling, one day that it rained really hard, my front light just didn't light up. At first I thought that the bottle dynamo was slipping, but that was not the case as the rear light was working. I then came to conclusion that maybe the system with the clips and the cables might got loose. I tried to adjust it but it was okay. 

I finally thought that maybe there was water into the clip and that is why the front light didn't work so I decided to give it a couple of days so that the water could evaporate.

I knew that the water was the problem because the previous night the lights worked fine. 

After two days I tried again to use the lights but still the front light remained unlit. 

The next day I called a friend who knows about bicycles to look it up. He adjusted the cables again and then the light became lit!

What a joy! The front light working meant I didn't have to ride in absolute darkness as I had been doing for the last three days.

So imagine my frustration when at the same night, after I've finished my work and wanted to head home, the light didn't work again!

The next day I called him back. The light was properly working when he came and saw it. 

Then it hit me! 

This particular light has two leds and an auto mode, during day one led it is on, during night the other one. After that dreadful rain the night mode wasn't working anymore. I was so sad! I gave up and rode in darkness for the rest of the week. 

One night, with a feeling of sadness I looked down at my front light and decided to turn it on to see what might happen...

...And it was suddenly working again! I just couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing! 

I then realised that my first impression was right. Indeed my lighting system had got water into it, although not the clips/cables, but the front light itself! The instructions said to avoid turning the bicycle upside down during washings as the bottom of the front light has holes and it might not work after being wet. I didn't wash my bicycle or anything, but as you can notice yourself from the pictures, my light is in front of the fender, not on top, and when it rains, water is splashing all over it! That was the problem!
(Fortunately the front light is still working perfectly until now.)

So that is why I've decided to waterproof my lights, as we are officially heading into the raining season. We already had our first big storm yesterday which reminded me that I need to do some waterproofing to my lights, so they won't have any problems in the future.

What did I do?

I used some electrical tape, which is supple and also more insulating, and covered the whole clip/cable system. I took my time doing it to ensure that every bit was properly covered and that water wouldn't be able to run through even during the heaviest downpour.

Furthermore, I used some electrical tape to secure the bottom part of my front light, too. I sealed the opening and double checked it to be sure that it is fully closed now and no water can come in through it. 

And that was it!

Who could ever told me that a piece of an electrical tape would ever give me such a joy! 

I feel happy as I believe that now my bicycle is ready to face even the most extreme rainfalls!

Are you prepared for the raining season?

Do you have any bits in your bicycle that might need some sealing or adjusting?